Honduras/El Salvador: Whether individuals born of Salvadoran parents in the Mesa Grande refugee camp in Honduras during the 1980s are Honduran citizens

During a 12 July 2010 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a representative of the Human Rights Research and Promotion Centre (Centro de Investigación y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos, CIPRODEH) of Honduras, a non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 1989 (CIPRODEH n.d.), stated that individuals born of Salvadoran parents in the Mesa Grande refugee camp in Honduras during the 1980s would not, on that basis alone, be able to obtain Honduran citizenship. She explained that this is due to the fact that, during this period, Honduras was not a signatory to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (CIPRODEH 12 July 2010). According to the Representative, individuals would have obtained the same citizenship as their parents (ibid.). According to Article 24 of the 1982 Constitution of the Republic of Honduras (Constitución de la República de Honduras, 1982), [translation by the Multilingual Translation Directorate] "where a dual nationality treaty exists, Hondurans who adopt a foreign nationality do not lose their Honduran nationality" (Honduras 1982, Art. 24). Information on countries that have signed such an agreement with Honduras could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

As for El Salvador, during a 12 July 2010 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a representative of the Embassy of El Salvador in Ottawa noted that, in his view, individuals born in the Mesa Grande refugee camp, of Salvadoran parents, would have obtained Salvadoran citizenship because, according to the second paragraph of Article 90 of the Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador (Constitución de la República de El Salvador), a child born abroad to a Salvadoran mother or father, is Salvadoran by birth (El Salvador 12 July 2010; ibid. 1983, Art. 90). The second paragraph of Article 12 of the 1962 Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador had identical wording (El Salvador 1962, Art. 12). With respect to dual citizenship, the Representative of the Embassy of El Salvador in Ottawa reported that El Salvador acknowledges multiple citizenship with all countries, as established in Article 91 of the 1983 Constitution (ibid. 12 July 2010).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Centro de Investigación y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos (CIPRODEH). 12 July 2010. Telephone interview with a representative.

_____. N.d. "Perfil Institucional." [Accessed 22 July 2010]

Honduras. 1982. Constitución de la República de Honduras, 1982. Excerpt translated from Spanish to English by the Multilingual Translation Directorate, Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada. [Accessed 7 July 2010]

El Salvador. 12 July 2010. Embassy of El Salvador in Ottawa. Telephone interview with a representative.

_____. 1983 (amended in 2003). Constitución de la República de El Salvador (1983). (Political Database of the Americas) [Accessed 7 July 2010]

_____. 1962. Constitución de 1962. (Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes) [Accessed 14 July 2010]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral Sources: Representatives from the following organizations were unable to provide information within time constraints: the National Registry of Individuals (RNP) of Honduras, the Honduran Red Cross, the Consulate General of El Salvador in Los Angeles (California), the Immigration Branch of El Salvador, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Internet sites, including: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).